Nashville is historically and today the capitol of the state of Tennessee and the "country music capitol" of the world! Before the 1950's the major record labels saw very little profit in producing country music. The country demographic before the 1950's was considered by the labels to be unprofitable. With the advent of Elvis Presley and rockabilly all that changed. Country music was now big business!
Decca Records began in Great Britain in 1929. A US Decca label was started five years later. By the 30's and 40's Decca had become a world-class label producing a diverse range of music genres records.
With the immense popularity of cowboy movies in early 1930's Decca began recording several "western swing" artists. This opened the door for the broader country and western recordings. By the late 1940's Decca had an impressive roster of country artists including including Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, and Web Pierce. By 1958 the leading force in Decca's country music success was Owen Bradley!
Decca Vice-President and A&R man Owen Bradley
( photo credit: Country Music Hall of Fame)
In 1955 Bradley set up Decca's studio in Nashville's famed "music row". It was essentially a quonset hut. It is from this studio that the "Nashville Sound" was born!
By the 1990's most of the corporate studios closed shop in Nashville. Music business magnet Curb Curb purchased many of these important historic studios (RCA A and B, Columbia, and Decca)
Mike Curb: Prominent Music Industry force and former Lt. Gov. of California
(photo credit: LA Music Awards. com)
Today these studios serve as a part of the Belmont University Music Industry program. Belmont students use these studios to gain real-world experience in recording engineering, song writing, and record production.
Below are photos from a spring 2016 visit to both the old Decca and Columbia Studios!
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| The front office of Columbia Records Studio A |
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| Adjoining Columbia Studio A is the Decca Records Studio front offices and the historic Quonset Hut studio |
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| The main conference room for Decca studio |
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| If these walls could talk! It is in this very studio (Quonset Hut) where the famed Nasville Sound was born! |
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| Looking back toward the control room |
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| The Quonset Hut studio tech has of course been brought into the 21st Century. |
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| Here I am in the Columbia Studio A. This studio is completely self-contained -essentially a box within a box. This is the same studio Bob Dylan recorded many of his albums (Classics such as 'Nashville Skyline' and "Blonde on Blonde'). |
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| Dylan with Nashville session musician Charlie McCoy in studio A (Photo credit: The Independent. co. uk) |
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| I want one of these at my house!!! The control room at Columbia A |
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| Your truly with one of Columbia Studio A's vintage microphones (and yes, it is heavy!). Don't get any credit cards near the magnet in this thing! |
Of course touring these great studios would not be possible without the help of my brother-in-law Mike Porter who is facilities manager for Columbia/Decca and Belmont University-Mike Curb College of Entertainment!
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| Mike Porter with one of the old analog recording machines at Columbia |
